Merging my passion for organizational development with my Master’s of Architecture, I integrate workplace design and culture as a competitive talent strategy. Most days, you can find me collaborating with smart, visionary leaders or speaking nationally about the role of design at America’s best workplaces. For more information, email me at commentarmstrong@gmail.com.

The Power of Purpose and Values: Leadership Lessons From the Great Place to Work Conference

John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. Image by Great Place to Work Institute

The Great Place to Work Institute recently held its annual conference, and I participated as a presenter and a representative of Kahler Slater, where we’re proud to be among the Best Companies to Work For eight years running. I also deeply resonated with a theme that emerged over the course of the conference: the critical connection between a purpose-driven culture and business success.

John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, opened the conference with a captivating keynote. Mackey contended that companies with a “conscious culture” and “higher purpose” inspire employees to reach their greatest potential, as well as help support the fight against the current “purpose crisis” in America.

“Businesses in the 21st century need to shift focus from profitmaximization to purposemaximization,” argued Mackay. In fully aligning your organization’s strategies, systems, and structures around a higher purpose, he said, you will almost certainly realize business results—“making more money than you thought possible.”

Mackey spoke about Whole Foods’ purpose-driven business model, with its focus on “whole foods, whole people, whole planet,” and how this model empowers the company’s 62,000 employees and plays a huge role in the organization’s success. In one specific example, he talked about Whole Foods’ Total Health Immersion Program, an internal initiative whereby at-risk employees receive intensive health and wellness education geared toward sustaining positive lifestyle changes.

With great passion, Mackey underscored the power of purpose and values and a conscious culture: it energizes and engages employees, promotes creativity and innovation, and helps businesses achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, was another keynoter at the conference. Dr. Noseworthy spoke on “The Power of One” and, specifically, how the culture at Mayo Clinic helps employees recognize their individual role in achieving the organization’s purpose in providing “an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner in health care.” In one story, Dr. Noseworthy described how a staff member, when asked what her job was by a visiting media crew, responded, “I save lives.” This particular employee, however, was not a doctor or researcher but, instead, a custodian. Such clarity of purpose, explained Dr. Noseworthy, helps all 56,000 employees at Mayo Clinic find meaning in their work and understand their true value to the organization.

In my presentation, my colleague Kelly Gaglione joined me to address the significance of storytelling in the workplace—leveraging, as numerous Best Companies already do, the physical work environment to connect employees with their organization’s purpose, values, history, and accomplishments. This strategy, while underutilized in many companies, serves to cultivate company pride, celebrate and recognize employees’ contributions, and reinforce the cultural narrative.

In linking storytelling to organizational purpose and values, Kelly and I spoke about the Happiness Framework presented in Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (Business Plus, 2010), a book by Tony Hsieh, the visionary CEO at online retailer Zappos. Hsieh, a keynoter at last year’s conference, shows how connecting employees with values and meaning serves as one path to happiness. Today, he’s also building a consultancy, Delivering Happiness at Work, around the importance of a values-based culture in achieving both happiness and business success. Zappos’ renowned culture, remarkable growth, and robust financial performance stand testament to this philosophy and approach.

Throughout many other keynotes and breakout sessions, presenters depicted a variety of companies where employees are authentically aligned with their organization’s purpose and values and, accordingly, the business is thriving even in these tough economic times.

So, as a leader, what are you doing in this regard? Are you focusing on profits or purpose? Are you supporting employees in finding real meaning in their work? And, across your workplace, are you connecting people to your company’s unique story? On the heels of the Great Place to Work Conference, I challenge you to think about these questions … and take action.

Barbara T. Armstrong is a nationally recognized designer specializing in strategically integrating workplace design and culture as a competitive talent strategy. She is a former principal at Kahler Slater, a global architecture and design enterprise.

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